1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to footballs, and more particularly to a substantially firmer grip enhanced football provided with contoured recesses on the exterior surface of the ball.
2. Background Of The Invention
Applicant Charles 0. Finley is a widely regarded sports figure who has introduced pioneering advancements to professional sports. As the former owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball club for twenty years, applicant made substantial contributions to the game of baseball. His Oakland A's baseball team won five straight Division Championships (1971-75) and three straight World Championships (1972-74). Applicant also introduced the designated hitter rule and the playing of World Series and All-Star games at night. In addition, applicant introduced colorful uniforms and white shoes to the game of baseball to replace the prison gray uniforms and black shoes previously worn by players. Applicant's sports interests extend beyond the game of baseball. While simultaneously pursuing his baseball interests, applicant owned a professional hockey club, the California Golden Seals of the National Hockey League, and a professional basketball club, the Memphis Tams of the American Basketball Association, which merged in 1977 with the National Basketball Association.
In the late 1960s, as the owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball club, applicant introduced "The Alert Orange Baseball" to the game of baseball. The Alert Orange Baseball had two principal advantages over conventional white baseballs: (1) fans could follow the flight of an orange ball more easily than a white ball, and (2) the batter could more easily see an orange ball being delivered at a speed of 90-100 miles per hour out of the white background of a pitcher's uniform. In exhibition games, fans reacted in an overwhelmingly positive manner to the Alert Orange Baseball. Umpires also attested to the benefits of the Alert Orange Baseball, stating that the ball was not only easier to see from behind the plate, but gave rise to a greater number of hits and fewer fielding errors in exhibition games in which the orange baseball was used.
More recently, applicant introduced a Visually Enhanced Football, which is described and claimed in applicant's copending Application Ser. No. 07/359,140, filed May 31, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,452. The Visually Enhanced Football has a visually enhancing design applied to the exterior surface of the ball. The design generally circumscribes the longitudinal extent of the football so that upon rotation about the longitudinal axis a first distinctive visual image is produced and upon rotation about a transverse axis a second distinctive visual image is produced. The visually enhancing design does not protrude substantially from the surface of the ball and does not affect the normal flight and gripping of the ball.
In various sports, such as football, the gripping and tactile characteristics of the ball can make a considerable difference in the performance of the participating players. This is especially true in football where grip affects the players' ability to throw the ball accurately and for distance, and also affects the players' ability to maintain possession of the ball while running or preparing to punt or place-kick the ball. In addition, football games are oftentimes played out-of-doors and in unpredictable weather conditions including rain, snow and other conditions affecting the players' ability to grip the ball. It is therefore desirable to provide a football having enhanced gripping and tactile characteristics to improve the performance of the players while simultaneously avoiding the imposition of features or structures on the surface of the ball that would disrupt the flight of the ball. Similarly, it is desirable to enhance the gripping of a football while retaining the traditional tactile characteristics or "feel" associated with conventional footballs.
Unlike round sport balls, the prolate spheroidal shape of a football requires the development of special skills to throw, punt and place-kick the ball. When throwing the football as a spiral pass, the ball must be gripped so that it can be thrown overhand in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the ball while simultaneously spinning the ball about its longitudinal axis. When thrown as a lateral pass, the football is gripped so that the ball can be thrown underhand in the direction of a transverse axis while simultaneously spinning the ball about its longitudinal axis. When punted, the ball is dropped from the punter's hands onto the kicking foot, and once punted, may either rotate in a spiral about the longitudinal axis or rotate end-over-end about a transverse axis. When place-kicked, the ball is either kicked from a tee, as in a kick-off, or kicked while being held by another player, as in a field goal or extra point attempt. A place-kicked ball generally rotates end-over-end about a transverse axis.
Clearly it would be to the thrower's advantage to be able to more readily grip the ball and to more accurately execute spiral and lateral passes over longer distances. Likewise, it would be to the advantage of receivers and ball carriers to more readily grip the ball and maintain firm possession of the ball while being pursued or tackled by opposing players. Similarly, it would be to the punter's advantage to more readily grip the ball after delivery from the center and while executing the punt. It would also be to the place-kick holder's advantage to more readily grip the ball after delivery from the center and while positioning the ball for the place-kicker to execute a field goal or extra point attempt. For these reasons and also to enhance the spectators' enjoyment of the game because of the improved performance of the players, it is desirable to provide a football with enhanced gripping and tactile characteristics without affecting the normal flight or aerodynamic behavior of the ball.
The exterior surface of conventional footballs has a grain formed of pebble-like projections or blisters on the exterior surface. These pebble-like projections are convex, rounded and generally hemispherical in shape, with each projection separated from its neighboring projection by recessed bands or valleys. The valleys are much narrower in width than the average diameter of the projections, and form a substantially continuous, interconnected network over the surface of the ball. The junctures or intersections at which the valleys converge are also much narrower than the average diameter of the projections.
In conventional footballs having exterior surfaces made of leather, the pebble-like grain is embossed onto the leather by applying pressure using a suitable stamping device. In footballs having synthetic, non-leather exterior surfaces, the pebble-like grain is applied during injection or compression molding of the surface piece, or, alternatively, embossed using heat and/or pressure.
Regardless of the technique used to apply the grain to conventional footballs, the resulting pebble-like projections provide enhanced gripping characteristics as compared to balls having smooth exterior surfaces. In particular, a player's fingers and palm will conform to the grain of the ball such that the skin will compress against the pebble-like projections but remain uncompressed or less compressed with respect to the valleys surrounding the projections. Enhanced gripping of the football results from the frictional interaction between the projections and skin of the player's hand. This interaction is distinct from and in addition to the enhanced gripping provided by the lacing of the ball.
Several years ago, a football was proposed which had a reverse grain pattern consisting of substantially circular recesses formed on the exterior surface of the ball. The recesses of the prior design were formed with orthogonal walls extending inwardly from the exterior surface of the ball and ending at a substantially flat bottom portion. In the prior design, each recess was separated from its neighboring recesses by a raised portion that formed a substantially continuous network over the surface of the ball. However, the raised portions of the prior design were much wider than the valleys surrounding the pebble-like projections of conventional footballs, especially at the junctures of three or more recesses. Moreover, these raised portions were occasionally wider than the average diameter of the recesses.
The orthogonal walls defining the recesses in the prior reverse grain design formed a sharp circular lip at their intersection with the exterior surface of the ball. The sharp circular lips prevented a player's hand from conforming comfortably to the recesses of the prior design when throwing or receiving the ball. The circular periphery of the recesses and substantial width of the raised portions in the prior design also allowed for a fewer number of recesses across the surface of the ball. Moreover, the sharpness of the circular lips defining the recesses create discomfort when the ball was gripped for throwing or when the ball was received when thrown. The prior reverse grain football was therefore less tactically appealing than conventional footballs.